Ancestral Ties
by ZDragonLord
Summary: A cast out knight creates a bond with a very unexpected group of fellow undead. Their adventure will be rough, but a mysterious adventurer might just be the key to success. Secrets of the past as well as the future await around every corner. Deep bloodlines run throughout Lordran and beyond, where might the group of Undead's lead? *Playthrough style with a more realistic spin*
1. Breaking out of prison

_In the Age of Ancients the world was unformed, shrouded by fog._ _A land of grey crags, arching trees and everlasting dragons._

_Then there was Fire and with Fire came Disparity._ _Heat and cold, life and death, and of course..._ _Light and Dark._

_From the Dark they came,_ _and found the Souls of Lords within the flame._ _Nito, the First of the Dead;_ _The Witch of Izalith and her daughters of Chaos;_ _Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, with his faithful knights;_ _And the furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten._

_With the Strength of Lords, they challenged the dragons._

_Gwyn's mighty bolts peeled apart their stone scales._ _The witches weaved great firestorms._ _Nito unleashed a miasma of death and disease._ _Seath the Scaleless betrayed his own and the dragons were no more._

_Thus began the Age of Fire..._

_But soon, the flames will fade and only Dark will remain._ _Even now, there are only embers and man sees not light, but only endless nights._ _Amongst the living are seen carriers of the accursed Darksign…_

_Yes, indeed. The Darksign brands the Undead. And in this land, the Undead are corralled and led to the north, where they are locked away, to await the end of the world... This is your fate…_

A lone knight, in Elite Knight armor, sat locked within a cell, in the depths of an Asylum. Locked away and forgotten in a prison built to hold hollows. He was not chained up, for he had nowhere else to go. Clutched in his hands is the remnant of his attempt to resist his capture. Hollows' moans can be heard echoing through the long hallways.

"I've been here for so long…I'm beginning to think there is nothing left outside these walls…" the knight sighed.

Throughout his sentence, the training from his past has kept his mind and humanity intact. Amongst the screams echoing through the halls, faint voices are occasionally heard.

"At least I know I'm not the only one with a sense of humanity left in this place."

A loud bang came from the end of the hallway, in the light of the flung open doors stood three silhouettes. Two hollow soldiers, each with a spear and shield, were dragging a body between them.

"Looks like they found another."

The knight watched as the two guards dragged the new body down the hall. They arrived at the cell beside the knight's. They were about to open the cell door, but instead turned and open the lone knight's cell. One guard held a spear out to prevent an escape, the other threw the new body into the cell.

"Aw, don't put that in here."

The guard closed the door, almost looking like it had a smile, and the pair left the way they came. The knight looked at the body, sighing at his new cellmate. The new body was dressed in standard thief garb, with a broken longsword.

"Well, at least it's easy to kill a stupid hollow."

The knight stood up, and was about to drop his boot onto the new hollows head, when it woke up.

"Ugh, now where am I?" it said.

"Oh, you can talk. Welcome to hell," the knight said, placing his boot back on the ground.

The thief turned on the ground, sat up, and dusted himself off. When he dusted his right off, it revealed a seal engraved into it. The knight immediately recognized the strange seal. He kicked the thief in the chest, to force him back onto the ground. His boot was swiftly placed on the thief's chest.

"I should kill you right here," he said bitterly.

"What? What are you doing?" the thief cried.

"You follow the heretic Artorias. You deserve to die."

The thief grabbed the knight's ankle in an attempt to remove it, but was still in a weakened state.

"Yes, I follow Sir Artorias, what of it? He was a brave knight, and went missing trying to save a city and a princess!" the thief called back.

"He betrayed his king, went on a suicide mission, and _died_ due to his actions."

"He is missing, there is no proof to his death!"

"There is plenty of proof! I should to kill you on the spot! However, I will not, as a decomposing body does not make good company. You stay over there, and keep your mouth shut."

The knight lifted his foot, and the thief got up. They parted to opposite corners of the cell, the knight taking the only bed.

Suddenly, a hole opened up in the roof. Another Elite Knight stood in the opening. A dead hollow body fell through the hole, landing between the knight and thief. He nodded, and continued on the roof. The knight checked the body, being very careful to keep an eye on the thief. He grabbed a small key from the body.

"A key, most likely to the cell door," the thief said sarcastically.

"Gee, I thought it went to the other door we have access to," the knight retorted.

The knight proceeded to reach through the bars, insert the key into the hole, and turn. The old gate slowly opened, then fell off its hinges, landing on the floor with a bang.

"So you're telling me you could have broken that door down at any time, but you never did…" the thief said.

"I tried for the first year I was in here, then gave up and accepted it. Besides, where would I go? Not like I have anything to live for outside these walls," the knight said.

"Everyone has something to live for."

"My own father chose loyalty over family, and handed me to the guards to be thrown in here."

"Well, that's what you get for following a man blinded by foolish loyalty. At least Artorias knew when to not follow orders and act on belief."

The knight shrugged off the comment, and proceeded through the duo walked slowly down the thin hallway, checking each cell on the way for guards or other survivors. Finally, they came across a cell with two men playing a game that was drawn on the floor of their cell. Both looked up, got up, and wandered to the cell door. One wore basic leather armor, the other had monk robes.

"You the guys that were yelling at each other yesterday?" leather man said.

"Aye, we were. This fool is a follower of the heretic Artorias," the knight said, pointing to the thief.

"Is he now? I have heard of Artorias. Actually, I was trained by a man who worked alongside one of the other knights beside Artorias."

"So you agree to his heresy?"

"I never said that. It was none of my business, thus I only heard what my master told."

"I see, what of your cellmate?"

"I was raised and trained by a group of clerics. I have no idea what you people are even talking about, and honestly, don't care. Both sides have valid arguments against the other I assume, therefore each party is both right and wrong," the cleric explained.

Everyone stood staring at him in complete confusion at that statement. A massive smash broke the silence.

"Sounds like a fight is going down on the roof!" leather man called.

"Must be that knight who gave us the key. Here, let me unlock your door."

The knight unlocked their door, and the group of four continued down the hall. They came to a ladder, and one by one ascended it. They went through another small doorway into a courtyard area. In the center of the courtyard sat an inactive pile of ash and bones with a very old sword standing in the center. Almost by instinct, the group of four gathered around the blade, held out their hand, and the ash pile burst to life. The group staggered back, shocked at the sudden burst of flames.

"What happened?" leather man asked.

"I think that was called 'lighting the flame.' It was something a large number of clerics in my order were tasked of doing, along with kindling it," the cleric said.

"Well, I don't know about any of you, but I feel re-invigorated," the knight said.

"Same here, it's strange that a simple bonfire can do such a thing," leather man said.

"Well, let's keep moving. See what else is here,"

There was another smash, this time followed by a crumbling sound and a metal clang, with a few small metallic tinks to follow.

"That came from upstairs! Hurry, let's get these doors open!"

The group bolted for the large green doors. The knight and cleric pushed the right door, while the others pushed the left. The doors flew open to reveal a large open room with another set of doors on the opposite side.

"Be on your guard…"

The group cautiously walked through the doors into the large room. The doors slammed behind, making everyone jump.

"I don't like this…" the cleric said.

Suddenly, a large beast dropped from a ledge on the roof, landing with a loud bang.

"Move!"

The large demon wielded a huge hammer, which it started swinging wildly. The group dodged attacks left and right, but could not fight the demon.

"Our broken weapons won't do crap!" the leather man said.

"Quick, over here!" the thief called, gesturing to an open gate.

The remaining three dashed for the gate. The knight was the last, sliding through the closing gate. Another bonfire waited just inside. The group lit the fire, and continued on. The knight peeked around the next corner, and almost got shot by an arrow.

"There is an archer at the end of the hallway," he said.

""Look, there is a pile of confiscated weapons and shields in that room just here," the thief said, pointing to an adjacent room.

"Okay, one by one, dodge the arrows and dive into the room."

The thief was first to go. He rolled out of the doorway, jumped the arrow, and dodged into the room. He grabbed the first shield he saw, a small round shield, and jumped back into the hallway.

"Go, I will cover you!" he called.

The cleric ran into the room as the thief parried an incoming arrow to the side. The cleric grabbed a wooden shield and joined the thief in blocking arrows. The knight was next, grabbing a metal kite shield. Last was the leather man who grabbed a round shield. He also found a small knife amongst the discarded gear.

"I got this, keep me covered," leather man said.

He held the small knife by its blade, pulled his arm back, and threw it. The knife flew down the hallway, embedding itself point first in the hollow archer's forehead.

"How did you do that?" the cleric asked.

"They don't call me Dextrous for nothing," he answered.

"So your name is Dextrous?" the knight asked.

"Sure is."

"Fitting…"

The group went back into the small room and rooted through the weapons piled up there. The thief came out with a short sword, cleric with a mace, Dextrous with a falchion, and knight with a broadsword.

"Alright, let's get moving."

They jogged down the long hallway, being careful that nothing else comes out to shoot at them. Dextrous grabbed the archer's shortbow and stock of arrows on his way. They exited the door, coming into a hallway overlooking the courtyard where the first bonfire was lit. They turned right, and came to a dual staircase.

"Up or down?" the thief asked.

"You go up, I will go down, the rest stay here," the knight ordered.

The knight started down the stairs, looking up to see a hollow standing beside a boulder.

_"__Sucker. That'll teach you to follow a traitor."_

The knight arrived at a gate, which led to the starting bonfire. He opened it, and headed back up. Meanwhile the thief was half way up the stairs when the hollow pushed the boulder, which rolled down the staircase. He dodged to the right, over the side if the stairs, only to land on top of the knight. The boulder barely missed Dextrous and the cleric, only to crash through the wall behind them.

"Get off me you fool!" the knight called.

The thief rolled off the knight and stood up. The knight slowly got up, glaring at the thief. Both of them walked up the stairs to meet up with the cleric and Dextrous.

"That was close, you guys okay?" the cleric asked, trying to ease the mood.

"Fine," the thief said.

"Same, aside my back," the knight said bitterly.

_"__That serves you right. I'm not stupid, or blind,"_ the thief thought.

"Look, it made a hole in the wall," Dextrous said.

The group peeked inside, only to find another knight lying on a large pile of rubble. A beam of light was cast on him from a large hole in the roof.

"You're the one who helped up get out!" the thief called.

"Oh, you. You're no Hollow, eh? Thank goodness. I'm done for, I'm afraid. I'll die soon, then lose my sanity. I wish to ask something of you. You and I, we're both Undead. Hear me out, will you?" he asked.

"You freed us, we will listen," the knight said.

"I am Oscar, Knight of Astora. Regrettably, I have failed in my mission. But perhaps you can keep the torch lit. There is an old saying in my family. 'Thou who art Undead, art chosen.' In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords. When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know. Well, now you know. And I can die with hope in my heart…"

"Ring the bell? What and where is this bell?" the cleric asked.

"Oh, one more thing. Here, take this, an Estus Flsk, an undead favorite."

He held out a green flask with a glowing orange liquid inside. The knight took the small flask from Oscar, but noticed he was still holding one.

"What the…" he wondered.

He reached for it with his other hand, but could not grasp it. The thief tried, and took one from Oscar's hand.

"We each can take one, seems like we can only have one though," he said.

Dextrous took the next, and when the cleric took his, it was the one in Oscar's hand.

"Oh, and this," Oscar said, holding a key.

The knight took the key.

"Now I must bid farewell. I would hate to harm you after death. So, go now. And thank you…"

His arm went limp, and he laid very still.

"You freed us, we shall continue your quest. I swear it," the knight said, clutching the key.

He turned around, and marched out the door. The cleric said a quick prayer for the fallen knight, and followed with Dextrous in tail.

_"__So he does have a heart,"_ the thief thought.

He turned around to meet the rest outside. Suddenly, there was a strange noise, followed by a moan. Shortly after, a small glow appeared on the waist of each member.

"What's going on?" the thief asked.

A small crystal appeared on the belt of each person. A small white mist flowed from inside the room they were just in, split into four streams, and flowed into the gems.

"What was that?" the cleric asked.

"I have no idea," Dextrous said.

"We will find out someday, right now, we need to get out of here," the knight said.

They went up the stairs, unlocked the door, and headed onto a balcony area. There was a large number of dead hollow bodies, some of which had some items beside them. The cleric ran up to one and picked up a mass of cloth.

"Not what I'm used to, but it will work," he said.

"What is it?" Dextrous asked.

"A talisman. Now I can use a few of my general miracles to help us."

The knight walked up to a body and picked up a stick. He placed it in a loop on his belt that seemed to fit it perfectly. He continued across the balcony to a corner. The two hollowed soldiers that threw the thief into the cell came around the corner. Their shields were raised, spears out, and walking forward.

"You dare taint my cell with that heretic's presence!" he yelled.

He drew his sword, placed his shield on his back, and charged forward. He kicked the shield of one guard, breaking its guard. He plunged his sword through it, getting it stuck. He grabbed the falling spear from the air spun around, planting his hands appropriately on the pole. He parried the first stab from the other guard, swept the spear below its feet, brought the spear up, and slammed it down on the falling Hollow. Before it could get back up, the knight plunged the spear into its head. He withdrew the spear, walked over to te body with his sword in it, stepped on it, ripped his sword out, and put it back into its holder. He turned around to see the rest of the group, who were staring at him with shock.

"Where did you learn to use a spear like that?" Dextrous asked.

"I have never even touched one before, I'm shocked at what I just did," the knight replied.

They gathered at a doorway with a white fog covering it.

"What is it?" the cleric asked.

The knight touched the white fog, and walked through it. The thief followed, then the cleric, and lastly Dextrous. They ended up on a very small platform above the large green demon that chased them through the small gate before.

"This time, it dies," the knight said quietly.

The rest nodded in agreement.

The knight held his spear in both hands, jumped off the platform, held the spear point down, and yelled. The demon looked up just I time to get a spear driven into its right eye. It roared, and threw the knight across the room. The thief was just about to jump next, but the demon flailed its hammer upward and shattered the small platform everyone else was on. The thief got a quick cut on the way down and landed on his meet, the cleric landed on his back, and Dextrous landed on his feet on a nearby broken pillar. The knight got up, withdrew his stick, and took position. The thief hopped back to the corner of the room, and helped the cleric up onto his feet.

Dextrous drew an arrow back, and fired it into the face of the demon. It swung its hammer toward him, and he jumped it as it took out his pillar. The thief hacked away at the feet of the large demon while the cleric attacked its small tail. The knight held his stick up, which started to glow a tint of blue, and swung it like he was hitting something. A blue bolt shot from the stick and hit the back of the demon, creating a ghostly blue burst as it hit.

_"__Magic too? What else can this guy do? Then again, I am one to talk," _the thief thought.

The demon started to flap its tiny wings, lifting the behemoth into the air. Everyone dodged out of the way as it came falling down butt first. The shockwave staggered everyone, allowing the demon to get back up. A few more close swings were exchanged with scratches and magic burns. Dextrous ran out of arrows, and was switching to his sword when the demon's hammer flew towards him.

"Watch out!" the knight called.

Dextrous threw up his small shield in an attempt to block the attack, but it blew right through his guard. He was sent flying across the room and into the wall. The demon noticed the wounded hunter, and began to meander over to him.

"Knight, toss me the catalyst!" the thief called.

The fatigued knight knew he had no more energy to cast more spells, but was resilient to help the thief. Instead, he thought of helping the rest of the group. He threw the catalyst to the thief, who caught it and started firing a barrage of spells at the demon. Dextrous looked down to the glowing flask, picked it up, and took a drink. Immediately, he got up just in time to dodge the incoming hammer.

"You okay? What was that?" the cleric asked.

"If you get hurt, take a drink of that flask. Dang, I feel great!" Dextrous answered.

"Okay everyone, one last rush!" the knight called.

All four dashed toward the demon, weapons raised, and slashed at once. The demon screamed, dropped its hammer, and fell forward.

"Yeah! We got it!" the cleric called.

Suddenly the demon exploded into a burst of light. Four separate beams of light gathered and were absorbed into each person's gem.

"What are these things? Are we absorbing their life or something?" Dextrous asked.

"Hopefully we will find out soon," the knight said.

On the ground was a key where the demon disappeared. The knight picked it up, and opened the large double doors at the end of the room. The group walked outside to a Cliffside area. Off to the right was a small nest on a very small outlet of the cliff. At the very end of the cliff was a huge nest.

"What is that?" the thief asked, pointing to the left.

A small path led down to a platform with a dead hollow sitting against a wall. It was holding a glowing orb. Each person grabbed the glowing orb, which disappeared instantly. Each person was holding a glowing, ghostly orb. As the knight went to put it into his satchel, it was instead absorbed into the crystal.

"We really need to figure out what these are…" he said.

The rest did the same, and headed up to the giant nest on the cliffside.

"Now what?" the thief asked.

His answer was a loud flapping sound.

"I don't like the sound of that…" the cleric said.

A massive raven flew up from below the cliff, scaring everyone. It reached out its talons toward the knight. He dodged it, grabbed its leg, and flipped onto its back. The bird grabbed the thief instead. The cleric grabbed the thief's open hand, and Dextrous grabbed the cleric's foot. The bird took off and flew to an unknown location, where the group's adventure awaits…

_Only, in the ancient legends it is stated, that one day an undead shall be chosen to leave the undead asylum, in pilgrimage, to the land of ancient lords, __Lordran__._

**A/N DO NOT EXPECT THE REST TO BE THIS LONG! I fused the would-be prologue and Chapter 1 together to form a super chapter. Let's face it, the Asylum was all one chunk, unlike the rest that comes in pieces. Anyway, With this new story, I will be alternating each week (we will see as time goes). Will post the next PK chapter this Friday, then this story will probably be in Tuesdays. Again, I will see how time goes, but with finals ****around the corner, we shall see.**

**Enjoy.**


	2. Welcome to Firelink

The bird flew over a large forest, small ruins, and finally a small rounded area of ruins. The bird dropped the thief along with everyone attached, and the knight jumped off. The group looked around the small encampment, only finding an already lit bonfire, and a man in chainmail.

"Now where are we?" the thief asked.

"Ye be in Firelink," came a voice from behind.

The group turned around to find a man in full chainmail, minus the hood, sitting on a piece of the ruins.

"You lot must be the new arrivals. Let me guess. Fate of the undead? You're not the first. There is no salvation here. You'd have done better to rot in the Undead Asylum."

"Excuse me?" the knight asked, insulted.

"No, no, I meant no offense. Let me help you out…"

"How might you do that?" the thief asked.

"Information. For example, those crystals of yours. They are used to collect and store souls, the currency of this land."

"That would explain the white mist and the glow after killing that demon," Dextrous said.

"Then there are your flasks. Anastacia down those steps can help with those, you only need a soul of a Firekeeper, not an easy find at all."

The group looked at the stairs behind the small bonfire, debating about going to talk to the woman.

"She won't be of much use though. She's mute and bound to this forsaken place. They probably cut her tongue out back in her village, so that she'd never say any god's name in vain."

"So much for that…" the thief muttered.

"Last bit for now, there are two Bells of Awakening. One's up above, in the Undead Church," the man said, pointing up the cliff far in the distance.

"And the other?"

"The other is far, far below, in the ruins at the base of Blighttown. Ring them both, and something happens. Not much to go on, but I have a feeling that won't stop you."

"Is that everything? Just some cryptic general locations?" the cleric asked.

"Get used to it, it's the way it works here. Just head up those stairs to get to Undead Burgh, then you are already partly there. So, of you go."

The group slowly backed away from the man in chainmail as he went into a stage of laughter that didn't seem all that funny. The group headed under the stairs to see who Anastacia is and what she might be able to offer to the group. They came across a blonde woman in bloody and ragged robes trapped in a small jail cell.

"Are you Anastacia?" the knight asked.

She looked up, nodded, then went back to being depressed. The group looked at each other, and back to the woman. She looked back up, pointed to the crystal on the knight's belt, gestured a sign for "large," then to his flask.

"We need to find large souls?"

She pointed to herself, then to the ceiling.

"The Firekeeper souls. Right?" Dextrous asked.

She nodded.

"Remember what that guy said, we need Firekeeper souls to give her."

"Aye, Well, we had best head towards the first bell if we expect to get anywhere," the knight said.

"Who died and left you in charge?" the thief muttered.

"What was that thief?"

"Nothing! And I have a name you know!"

"Really, I would have never known. Not my fault you have never said anything."

"Not that you would care anyway."

"You know what? Everyone back to the bonfire, I see we need to have a long talk."

The group headed back to the bonfire, sat around it, and stared at each other.

"This was your stupid idea, get on with it," the thief said.

"Fine. I am Orion, a battlemage that was thrown to the Undead by my own father, who chose loyalty over family. He had me thrown into that accursed Asylum some time ago. I watched all three of you get thrown in there one by one, being able to do nothing to help fellow humans. I tried to break out once, it did not go well at all," the knight said.

"I am Dextrous, as you already know. I was found as a baby and raised by a renowned archer. He taught me everything I know, including a slight amount of pyromancy. Arrived at the Asylum after my 'father' sold me to the Undead! SOLD ME! I hope to see him again, only to be able to put an arrow in his head," Dextrous said.

"I am Xren. I too was discovered when I was very small, but it was a cleric who found me. He took me in and taught me the power of faith. Through the rigorous training in the Way of White, I built up my physical strength as well as my mind. There was also this behemoth carrying a giant club, and wore armor and a shield made of solid stone. How he carried all that, I will never know. I was thrown into the Asylum when I betrayed them after finding out what their cause really was," the cleric explained.

The thief sat in silence, as if not wanting to share his story.

"Well? Out with it. Can't be much different than the rest of us," Orion taunted.

"I am Azuron. I was born and raised in a large city with swordsmen of all kinds. I picked up a little bit of magic from each class through the various trainers I had. My father never paid a large amount of attention to me, but at least he was busy assisting in defending our home. He was never one to leave a helpless person alone," the thief explained.

"Which is why you follow Artorias, right? A legendary knight who disobeyed orders to save a fair maiden in turmoil. Classic…" Dextrous said.

"Uh, sure. Yeah."

Orion looked at the thief with bitter distrust and suspicion, but also with a sense of familiarity.

_"__Interesting story. He's hiding something, but what?"_ Orion thought.

"Now was that so hard? We now know each other's names, general skills, and we all have some type of father figure whom which we want to kill. That is with the acceptation of mister heretic whom _I_ want to take out," Orion said.

The group stood up and was about to continue when they heard a strange rustle from behind the ruins.

"Anyone else hear that?" Dextrous asked, readying his bow.

Orion slowly walked towards the direction of the noise, broadsword in hand. He led the group through a stone archway, across a water-filled platform area, and to the top of a staircase.

"It's a graveyard… So?" Azuron said sarcastically.

Another echoing rustle sound chimed through the hills. Weapons and bones were scattered across the tombstone-covered field.

"Hey, look! Loot!" Xren claimed, pointing at a few glowing orbs.

"Be careful, I'm getting a bad vibe about this place," Orion warned.

The group slowly made their way down the stairs, passing a large amount of bones along the way.

"Hey guys, check what I found!" Xren called.

He held in his hands a pair of binoculars, scanning the area.

"Ew, you look ugly…" he said, looking at Dextrous.

"Very funny," Dextrous said sarcastically.

"Hey, Orion! Catch!" Dextrous called, throwing something.

Orion caught the spinning pole in his left hand, and examined it.

"Another spear? What am I going to do with this?" he asked.

"You were pretty good with the other one, why not use it?" Dextrous replied.

"Because that was just a lucky start. I have zero practice with a spear. Besides, I found something better!"

Orion placed the spear onto his back behind his shield, and picked up the new weapon. He had to hold it affectively in two hands due to its large size and weight.

"That is the biggest sword I have ever seen…" Xren said, walking up to the rest of the group.

"This beauty is an ultra greatsword, the biggest of the sword class. I used to carry something similar to this, only a lot more boring."

Orion gave it a few swings, judging its balancing and speed. As with any sword larger than its wielder, it moves fairly slow.

"Who wants the shield and sword? I'm not going to use them anymore."

"I'll take the shield! Beats the heck out of this wooden one," Xren said.

Orion tossed the shield to him, then tossed the sword across the field when nobody claimed it. The blade landed on a pile of bones, scattering them everywhere. Suddenly the same rattle noise echoed again, but this time as if the origin had multiplied.

"Is it just me, or did that sound like it came from behind us?" Xren asked.

The group turned to see an army of skeletons putting themselves together and picking up weapons, two of which were the size of a giant.

"Well crap…"

The skeletons charged forward. The group lined up to cover more ground and divide the oncoming horde into smaller groups. Orion and Xren had the luxury of dealing with the giants, while Dextrous and Azuron dealt with the ten normal sized.

Dextrous managed to put a few arrows into the skull of the one he was fighting before it got too close, however, it did virtually nothing. He withdrew his falchion and started swinging and dodging any incoming attacks. Soon the giant skeleton grabbed either side of its weapon and dropped it down like a guillotine. Dextrous took this opportunity to dislodge its skull and sent it flying off the cliffside. The rest of the body crumpled down into a pile of bones, unmoving.

Orion swept his large sword across the giant skeleton's feet, cutting them off. The giant fell to its knees, but kept coming at him. He cut its arms off next, leaving a torso with a head on the ground. The legs and arms slid across the floor only to reattach themselves.

_"__Oh come on!"_ he thought.

A few more swings got the skeleton back on the ground.

"Go for the heads! Take their heads off!" Dextrous called.

Orion brought his sword above his head, and dropped it down with enough force to embed it into the skull of the giant skeleton. He pulled the sword up, taking the skull with it. He slammed the blade and skull into a nearby tombstone, shattering both the skull and stone.

Xren and Azuron stood side by side taking the skeleton army front on. Both were taking heads off left and right, either with their shields or swords. Xren kicked one over and planted his boot onto the skull, shattering it. Azuron fought off the last few by parrying and using his sword. The group surrounded the last remaining skeleton. Orion took its legs out and pinned the body to the ground with the spear. Xren took his mace, held it like a bat, and sent the skeleton's head sailing through the air.

"Yeah! We did it!" Xren called.

"That wasn't too bad. Doubt it will be that easy for long though," Orion said, grabbing his spear. "Let's head back and rest before we head back out. I have a feeling we are not going to get another break for a while."

The group headed back up the stairs they descended, taking a detour through the ruins.

"Look, there is a elevator shaft here," Dextrous said.

"Yeah, and there is the elevator. Stuck at the top…" Azuron pointed out.

"Hey, there is a platform down there…" Xren said, pointing down the shaft.

The group looked down to see a small doorway a short jump down. Xren hopped down the small drop, and walked through the door.

"Guys get down here! I found treasure!" echoed from below.

The rest of the group followed suit, and met the cleric at the bottom. Surrounding them were four wooden chests. Xren was already throwing one open when they arrived.

"Ooh, a spiky mace. I will use that," he said, taking a morning star from the chest. "Not this though, anyone want a talisman? I have one already."

"I'll take it. Might make use of it," Azuron said.

Xren tossed the rag to him, and he put it away.

"What are these?" Dextrous asked, holding some cracked red stones.

"How about these?" Azuron said, holding some strange gyro orbs.

"Haha, I can beat that, need some bones?" Orion laughed, taking some bones from his box.

"What is all this stuff?" Xren asked

"Who knows? Maybe we can ask that guy in chainmail what they do." Orion said.

"Good idea."

The group headed down the small ledge back into the graveyard, only to go back up the stairs again to Firelink's lone bonfire.


	3. Attention fighters

"Everyone have everything?" Orion asked the small group.

The remainder of the group nodded in confirmation.

"Good, then we will head out to find this bell that we are supposed to ring. Everyone up and at 'em!"

"We just sat down…" Xren complained.

"Nobody said you had to sit down," Dextrous said, leaning against a large tree to the side of the bonfire.

Azuron and Xren stood up, Dextrous got off his tree, and Orion stretched out his arms. The group drew their weapons to be ready for any more surprises that may lie ahead. They walk towards the steep, crumbling stairs that were just across from the bonfire. They passed a well with a body hanging over it.

"I never noticed this before…" Xren said.

"Me neither. What is this?" Orion asked, picking up a glowing black and white sprite.

"Looks important, I would hang onto them if I were you!" the man in chainmail called from his sitting place.

Orion placed the strange sprite into his satchel. The group continued up the stairs. Along the way, a group of Hollow soldiers stood guard before the next set of steps. Orion took the first out with a quick swing of his large blade. The second swung a large axe at Xren, who blocked it and bashed its head in with his mace. Another was at the top of the stairs throwing orbs that exploded into fire.

"Dextrous!" Orion called.

"Got it!" he called.

Dextrous drew an arrow and fired it into the Hollow. The remaining Hollow had more armor than the rest, a metal shield, and a spear. Azuron dashed forward, shield raised. The Hollow threw its shield up, and kept it up for the successive four hits Azuron laid on it.

"You have to break his guard!" Dextrous called.

Azuron planted his left foot backward, and drew his right up. He delivered a swift, but powerful, kick to the Hollow's shield, breaking its guard wide open. He proceeded to drive his blade straight through the Hollow's chest before it could recover.

"That was quick thinking, good idea."

Orion huffed in the background when Azuron's self-accomplished gaze met his. Orion took his frustration out on the last two Hollow at the top of the stairs by throwing them off the large bridge that was connected to the steps. The rest of the group caught up on the ledge of the bridge, gathering together before going further.

"What is that god-awful smell?" Xren complained, holding his nose.

"Smells like a sewer. I can hear water running behind the wall. There is a doorway up ahead, let's go," Orion said.

Orion cautiously walked up to the door and peeked inside. Inside he saw a green-tinted river running along the ground, and a nasty looking rat guarding an item.

"Okay, it is a sewer, and there is this nasty looking rat guarding something to the left."

"I'll get the rat. Shouldn't be that bad," Azuron said.

"We will back you up. Orion, be ready with that spear, it has the longest reach of any of us," Dextrous said.

Orion rolled his eyes inside his helmet, but swapped his large sword for the spear. Azuron carefully took point, with Dextrous and Orion in tail. Azuron jumped through the doorway, charging towards the rat. The rat backed up a few steps until it hit the back wall. Azuron towered over the rat, which was clearly scared, and drove his blade into the top of it. He proceeded to pick up the item it was guarding. Upon picking it up, a white light beamed into his crystal.

"Aww, only a small soul. Now I feel terrible for killing that rat, it was just scared," he said.

"Sure, just before it eats your face off," Orion said, swapping weapons again and turning around. "Where is Xren?"

Everyone turned, only to find Xren was missing. Not a second later, as if he knew he was being looked for, he poked his head around the doorway.

"Where were you?" Azuron asked.

"I hate rats, and I found a small soul at the end of the bridge that everyone missed," he replied.

The group continued down the foul smelling tunnel, only to come to a fork in the path. They continued left, as the straight path ended in a locked gate. There was another set of stairs leading out of the tunnel and back outside.

"Finally, fresh air!" Xren called.

"It has been two minutes…" Dextrous said.

"So? It stinks in there!"

"Shhh! Two more Hollows above us," Orion said.

He creeped up the steps, sword at the ready.

"It is only two of them, let's take them out," Azuron said, going past Orion.

He took out the two Hollows with relative ease.

"See, was that so hard?" he asked sarcastically.

Orion held his tongue of the many words he could have said. Azuron continued across a small wooden platform taking out two more Hollows. He led the group into a small building off to the right of the platform, picking up another small soul on the way. They went up a crumbling staircase and onto the top of a wall.

"I don't know why you are so paranoid, it's not like there is anything _that_ dangerous…"

Azuron, in his attempt to out shine Orion, neglected to watch his surroundings, or his team. Orion had stopped the tailing team members halfway up the stairs. He nodded to Dextrous, who drew an arrow. A giant red Wryvern came barreling out of the sky, landing on the bridge with enough force to knock Azuron onto his back. He frantically shuffled backwards, gaining distance between himself and the Wryvern. The beast looked at him, screamed, and took off again.

"Too easy huh? Pay attention next time, I heard it coming," Orion said, walking past the shocked thief.

Xren helped Azuron up, who then retrieved his sword and shield. Orion took out the next two Hollows on the next landing, with Dextrous taking out a Hollow on the next set of stairs and a sniper with a crossbow on a tower. On the landing was a fork, right led across a small stone bridge to another building, or continue ahead.

"There is someone down there," Xren pointed out, looking over the stone railing.

"Right it is then," Orion said.

Two Hollow soldiers guarded the path, carrying metal shields and spears.

"Would you like to show off some more, or have the other three people here help?"

Azuron grumbled, but followed behind Orion. The group surrounded the two soldiers, who immediately put their shields up. Even though they tried to block the attacks, four weapons, two of which being heavy, broke through their guard. After both were killed, the group continued down the small staircase to the inside of another ruined building. Orion walked outside through the doorway at the bottom of the steps to find a Hollow sitting amongst some junk and a large basket. Confused, he slowly approached the Hollow, sword at the ready, the rest of the team behind for backup.

"Well now… You seem to have your wits about you, hmm?" he said.

Orion was shocked to see it, he, could talk.

"I trade various little things. Everything's for sale!" he trailed off laughing.

"But we have no money."

"I trade for souls!"

"Trade for souls?" Orion asked.

He pointed at the crystal hanging from Orion's belt.

"Let me make a suggestion for starting Undead like yourselves."

The merchant gestured to a stack of trunks piled up behind him.

"Only a small amount of souls for one of these. By the glow on those crystals, I'd say you have plenty."

"What are they?"

"Why, it is a bottomless box! These magical thinks seem to store infinity itself! Nobody knows how… Nee hee hee."

"I will take one, might as well to see how this soul currency thing works."

Orion held a hand over the crystal, and a small ball of white light gathered in his hand. He handed it over to the merchant in exchange for a box.

"Are you sure we can trust this Hollow? There is blood all over that wall over there," Dexreous commented quietly.

Orion glanced to the right wall where there was a large quantity of blood dried in a streak pattern.

"Get what we need, so we can leave. We don't have to come back," Orion quietly responded.

One by one, the rest of the team agreed and bought a large trunk.

"Here's a thought, how are we going to haul these?" Dextrous pointed out.

"Why, you leave them at the bonfire! They have a habit of following you around. There is one just up the steps there, in a tower."

"Can I get a few of these?" Azuron asked, holding a pouch of throwing knives.

"Sure! Take this too! Might come in handy somewhere, I have never found a use for it," the Hollow said, holding up a key.

Orion took the key, attached it to a loop on his belt, and turned to leave. He picked up his trunk on the way back to the doorway.

"Ah, thank you very much! Come back soon! Yulia and I will be here. Little Yulia…" he trailed off laughing again, staring at an empty basket.

The group carried the trunks up the way they came, and continued up the stairs that the merchant was talking about. Sure enough, there was a wooden platform connecting their path to a tower with an unlit bonfire sitting inside. Everyone dropped their trunks along the back wall, and beside a crumpled staircase. The group gathered around the bonfire, and it burst to life.

"I wonder how we get up there?" Xren asked, pointing to a small wooden platform with a folded ladder at the top.

"I bet we will find out soon enough. For now, let's rest. We will continue after we come up with some ideas on what to do next," Orion said, opening his trunk.

He knelt down, took a rock from the ground, held it over the trunk, and dropped it. Everyone was expecting a sound of it hitting the bottom, but nothing. Confused he reached into the trunk, that was no deeper than two feet, and his entire arm reached into the darkness within.

"Someone hold onto me."

Azuron went to assist him, but was stopped by a lifted foot.

"Not you, I don't want to be pushed inside. Xren, give me a hand?"

The cleric walked over and held onto Orion's feet. Orion leaned into the chest where the entire top half of his body was engulfed by the dark. Finally, he came back out, holding the small rock he dropped in.

"Would you believe this was floating in mid-air? There really _is_ no bottom to it…" Orion said, holding the small rock.

"This whole place keeps getting stranger by the day…" Xren said, letting Orion go.

"You can say that again… And this is only the beginning."

**A/N: Sorry if this is a bit shorter than expected. Have finals this week, and didn't have much time to put a major chapter together. The next one, however will get some action. For those who have played DS, the group is heading to Dragon Bridge and meeting the Man of Sunlight. See y'all next week! Keep up the reviews and feedback!**


	4. Attack of the Black Knight

Orion stood up, unloaded anything he did not immediately need into the chest, and closed the lid. The rest of the group did much the same, now seeing how the trunks work. As everyone got ready, Orion stood in the doorway scanning the general area. He saw a few Hollows in the building across a stone bridge and a few on a roof across the way.

"See anything?" Dextrous asked, adjusting the bow in his back.

"Quite a few Hollows, couple in there, and a few up there," Orion replied. "Everyone ready to set out?"

"We are," Xren said, standing beside Azuron.

"As am I," Dextrous agreed.

"Then we should be moving. The faster we get these bells done, the faster I can be rid of that heretic."

Azuron, naturally, took offence to it. His face turned red with anger, but he kept himself calm. Xren was the only one who seemed to notice, let alone care. He placed a hand on the thief's shoulder, and assured him he had his back. The group went into a single file line to cross the stone bridge. Just as Orion stepped foot onto the crumbling bridge, the Hollows on the roof started raining firebombs onto the bridge.

"Dextrous, do you have a good shot?" Orion asked.

"I can get only the one on the far right, this building next to us blocks the rest," he answered, drawing his bow.

He took aim, and shot the only Hollow he could, hitting it square in the head.

"Okay, we need to run the remainder of the bridge. I know there are at least two Hollows at the end, so be on your guard."

Orion dashed across the bridge, followed by everyone else. He dove through the doorway at the end, shoulder bashing an axe-wielding Hollow into the wall. A door to his left flew open, and a Hollow soldier with a shield and sword came rushing out. Dextrous came in next, driving his falchion into a Hollow that was trying to flank Orion. Next came Xren who clotheslined the Hollow soldier with his shield, followed by a blow to the head from his mace. Azuron arrived last, just dodging a firebomb.

They continued through the small room, taking note of a locked gate on the side wall. They quickly made their way under the platform that the firebombers were standing on, being careful not to get hit.

"Another crossroad, should we split up?" Xren asked.

"Sounds fine, Dextrous and I will go up the stairs, you two check out the building," Orion ordered.

Xren and Azuron headed inside the small building, taking out a Hollow that was waiting for them. A second Hollow came from behind a wall, and was taken out in a few quick slashed of Azuron's blade. The duo reached a room filled with boxes and barrels, with a wooden chest stuffed in the corner.

"Ooh, treasure. Orion is going to be mad we found something, and he didn't," Xren said.

"Probably not, especially if it is something like this," Azuron said, opening the chest. "These look like the things those Hollows were throwing, only, black. They're fairly heavy too."

A series of clangs, shouts, and small explosions echoed on the roof above the duo.

"Let's get back to the others, sounds like they need our help."

"_One _of them needs help…"

Azuron clipped the pack of bombs to his belt, and followed Xren outside and up the stairs.

"Can you get a clear shot?!" Orion called over explosions.

"Not with all these bombs!" he replied, dodging a firebomb.

Azuron and Xren arrived to see the two dodging firebombs and three Hollow bodies on the floor.

"Has anyone tried using the ladder?" Azuron asked sarcastically.

"Go ahead and try, but you will get shot in the back by an archer in that tower over there," Dextrous said.

"Why not go get him first?"

"Because we have had our hands tied here genius," Orion said.

Azuron headed towards the tower, and into the doorway.

"Where do you need me?" Xren asked.

"Now try to get up that ladder, that is if the thief doesn't let us down."

Xren dashed for the ladder heading up the side of the wall to the firebombers. He dodged a few bombs, and managed to take out all three of the bombers. A body fell to the floor from the tower to the side, showing Azuron held up his part. Xren slid down the ladder, and Azuron exited the tower.

"Can you use one of these?" Azuron asked, tossing a crossbow to Dextrous.

"I have used one before, not saying I am _good_ at it, but I can use it," he replied, putting his falchion away and examining the crossbow.

"Well, let's see it. There is a group of three just at the bottom of the stairs there."

"Alright."

Dextrous climbed to the top of the tower to get a better vantage point. He drew the string back, locking it in place, loaded a bolt, and took aim. He fired a bolt at one of the two Hollow soldiers standing at the bottom of the stairs, hitting it in the leg. He reloaded and fired again, this time hitting the other soldier in the arm.

"Your aim needs a bit of work, but at least you hit them! Better than I could have done!" Xren called from below.

The rest of the group went in to take out the wounded soldiers.

"Watch your right!" Dextrous called.

He threw up the crossbow, loaded and fired in a flash. The bolt hit the charging spear-wielding soldier square in the face, killing it instantly.

"So you can hit a target that is moving, but not a standing one… come on now…"

Dextrous came down from his tower spot, about to join the group, but noticed a locked door.

"Hey Azuron, you're a thief right? Can you pick a lock?"

"Only basic ones, but yes, why?" he asked.

"There is a locked door, and there is a chest above you guys in the backyard of it."

The group looked up on top of a ledge to see the chest he was talking about. Azuron withdrew a ring with a strange key on it. He fidgeted around with it inside the lock, until it clicked and the door opened.

"There you go."

"Thanks."

Dextrous walked inside, through the broken-down house, and onto the ledge. He opened the chest and withdrew a small pouch. Azuron waked back down the steps to meet with the rest of the group, and Dextrous hopped down the ledge.

"Well, what was it?" Orion asked.

"I'm not sure. It is filled with weird yellow power, stranger yet, it is sparking…" he answered.

"I have heard about that. It is called pine resin. When used on a weapon, it can add a temporary element of the type of powder that was used. For example, yours is yellow, therefore it will add a lightening effect."

"How do you know that?"

"It was a tool of the trade my father used often, he even infused a weapon with it."

_"__Did he say his father used a lightening infused weapon? Interesting, I knew he was keeping secrets, but if I am right, I know why he hates me. We shall see…"_ Azuron thought.

There was another fork in the path ahead of the group.

"Up or down?" Xren asked.

"Let's go down first, looks like up is the way we need to go." Orion said. "This time, stay together."

The group slowly crept down the steps, only to find a huge black armored figure standing with its back to them.

"What now? He looks like a super knight or something," Xren whispered.

"We need a plan of attack, something that big is bound to be strong," Orion said. "Dextrous, think you can give us any cover form that tower you were in?"

"Can do, I will be your eye in the sky," he said, and headed into the tower.

"I can sneak up on him, and drive my blade into his back," Azuron said.

"Go for it, if you think you are good enough. We have no idea what that thing is."

Azuron, in his own confidence, started to creep his way quietly down the steps towards the black knight. Orion switched his large sword out for the spear on his back, and with Xren, prepared in-case Azuron failed.

Azuron crept up behind the knight, who still did not seem to notice him. He got within a foot of the towering knight, drew back his sword, and prepared a lethal backstab. The black knight, however, knew he was coming. In the blink of an eye, the knight spun around, sword outstretched. The black blade hit the side of the brick wall and ate into it, carving a deep line into the aged stone sending sparks everywhere. Azuron barely dodged the attack, bending backward from his crouched position. He rolled backward to gain some distance before running back to Orion and Xren. The knight was jogging after the thief, and the group of three broke apart in terror. Xren ran up the stairs along toe side of the wall, only to come face-to-wood with a flaming barrel that a Hollow kicked down at him. He dove back down the stairs, falling onto the ground and quickly getting up.

"Not that way!" he yelled.

The flaming barrel bounced over the side of the railing and hit the black knight in the chest, exploding in a violent blast. He trio stopped, and looked at the smoke.

"That must have killed it. Nothing could have survived…" Xren started.

_"__Rhaaaw!"_

A terrifying yell came from the smoke, followed by its owner. The black knight charged out of the smoke towards the group. Everyone backtracked to the steps leading up to the tower, in hopes Dextrous could assist and to have more fighting room. Xren was the first up, followed by Azuron. Orion was left to deal with the black knight's attacks. As he backed up the steps, he kept his spear out in hopes to keep the knight back. The knight paid no attention to the flimsy stick, and rushed Orion. Orion tried to get into a defensive stance, but was too late. The black knight swung his shield, and hit Orion across the face with it. Orion fell off balance, and tumbled over the staircase. With quick thinking, he drove his spear into the wall below him mid-fall, and held onto it for dear life. He mover towards the head of the spear to prevent the pole from breaking or coming lose.

"Orion!" Xren called.

"I'm fine, just hurry and kill it! I don't know how long this will hold!" Orion called.

"Dextrous! Fire everything you've got!" Azuron called.

Dextrous fired a volley of crossbow bolts into the black knight, doing seemingly very little. He switched to his bow, and continued the barrage. Xren withdrew his talisman, which started to glow, and he fired a white sphere at the knight. The sphere hit the knight, and exploded into a powerful shockwave with enough force to stagger the knight. Dextrous took the time to aim a well placed shot that hit right under the back collar of the knight's chestplate. When it recovered, Xren charged another, but was halted when the knight charged at him. Xren braced for impact as the knight hit his shield, sending him flying into a stack of nearby barrels. Xren, winded, could not get up. The knight turned in rage toward Azuron.

"Azuron! Take it!" Dextrous called, throwing the tied pouch of resin at the thief.

Azuron caught it, quickly opened it, took a pinch out, and threw it over his sword. He tossed the pouch to the side, put his shield on his back, and his left hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Have at thee…" he muttered.

The knight charged, Azuron dodged to the side, and slashed the back of the knight. The knight let out a painful roar.

"Keep it up, that worked!"

Azuron dodged attack after attack, riposting each attack. Finally, the knight slowed its attacks, weakened. Azuron took advantage, and slashed out the knight's legs. The knight fell to its knees, and Azuron drove his sword through the knight's back. The knight fell forward onto the ground, dead. Azuron withdrew his blade from the body, and shook the blood off.

"I got Xren, go get Orion," Dextrous said.

Dextrous ran over to assist Xren, taking his flask out to give to Xren. Azuron ran over to the ledge where Orion was hanging. He looked over to see the knight holding onto the top of the pole, just below the spearhead.

"Take my hand!" Azuron called.

"No, you will let me fall!" Orion called.

"You are going to have to learn to trust me! I'm sick of your attitude, and I would like nothing more than to see you get yours. I am not, however, a murderer or one who lets people die. Now give me your damn hand!"

Orion quickly thought it over, and reached an arm up to the thief. He grasped it, pulled him up enough for Orion to get a hand on the ledge, and helped him over the side. Orion reached back down, and pulled his spear from the wall with ease.

"Not another two minutes, and that would have come lose on its own…" Azuron muttered.

The two walked over to the dead black knight, and met the mostly recovered Xren and Dextrous.

"So what was this thing?" Orion asked, shouldering any kind of gratitude.

He put a boot underneath the body, and flipped it over. Azuron, on the other hand, picked up the knight's sword and began examining it.

"I think I'm going to keep this." Azuron said, giving it a few swings.

"Oh, no you're not! You don't deserve such a grand weapon!" Orion called, swiping the blade from Azuron's hands.

"What the hell?! I killed that knight, therefore I get its sword!" he called, angered.

"This knight looks exactly like the silver knights, King Gwyn's faithful knights. Why it is in black armor, I have no idea. You and your "idol" have no sense of loyalty, thus have no right wielding such a weapon. Let's head back to the bonfire to rest before continuing."

The group slowly made their way back to the bonfire. Orion took a drink of his flask to recover enough of his strength to make it back, let alone carry three weapons. Dextrous shouldered the limping Xren to help him back. Azuron was blazing angry, following behind the group. When they arrived, Orion immediately threw the black sword into his chest. Dextrous set Xren against some boxes in the area, and sat beside the bonfire. Azuron sat across from Dextrous, still angry.

"Ugh, my ears are still ringing. I'm surprised he didn't break my neck with that hit. Everyone else alright?" Orion asked.

"I'm fine, Xren is still recovering, but I think he should be fine in an hour or so," Dextrous replied.

"I wouldn't know. I didn't get hit, unlike someone who didn't even get a hit in at all," Azuron replied bitterly.

"Get some rest everyone, we need it after that. You, don't even think of trying to steal that sword. I am a light sleeper, and I will be sleeping right here."

Orion sat with his back against his chest, arms crossed. Dextrous lay back on the ground, relaxing. Xren fell asleep where he was propped. Azuron sat staring into the fire, going over his thoughts.

_"__I know who you are Orion. You may have many secrets, but I know in some way you are connected to that Dragonslayer…"_

**A/N: Long chapter, and a day early to make up for the last one. Man, dropped a BIG hint in this chapter. We shall see what happens next time. Back to posting both stories each week until further notice. Christmas is right around the corner, and I have something ****_really_**** dumb planned to be posted in light of it. As always, let me know how it's going! See y'all next week (or Friday)!**


	5. EXTRA: Festive cheer

**A/N: A friend of mine and I had this idea last year, but it never got far. Now that I have a group of people that enjoy DS as much as I, I thought I might as well finish it just for you guys! It is a remix of "Jingle Bells." I know some parts don't rhyme, and some parts are not 100% on rhythm, but for my first shot at something like this, I think it went pretty well… Merry Christmas everyone!**

Dashing through Lordaran,

with Estus flask in hand,

my journey will be long

through this accursed land.

Two bells that I must ring,

one high and one below,

for something to miraculously

happen I am told.

Oh Jingle Souls Jingle Souls

the gates have opened wide,

be cautious of the traps and dangers

that lie deep inside.

Oh jingle souls jingle souls

bombs are raining from the sky,

I must first take out the evil beast

which is causing them to fly

A man dressed in iron

with quite the great sized sword,

he must be summoned now

to continue through this world.

A titan guards the roof

and must been taken down,

just to get carried off

to a brand new land

Run through Anor Londo

with sentinels at my back,

I pray I dont git hit

by a Silver knight attack.

The Lord Vessel is my goal,

two Bosses I must fight,

to survive the DragonSlayers skill

and Executioners might.

With lord vessel now in hand

my quest is half way done,

the lord souls are up next

oh how this should be fun!

Four souls that I must have

to open the land of ash,

now I must hurry on

to get there in just a dash.

The dukes are coming first

a library of crystal spells,

an immortal dragon sleeps

oh this will just be swell.

Next up is a sunken land

four kings that guard the soul,

darkness is all around

I must jump into the deep dark hole.

A graveyard is third

into the crypts I must descend,

where a pinwheel and pile of bones

are commanders of the dead.

The last but not least

is in the depths of the lava world,

where evil demons thrive

holds a blazing tree I'm told.

Oh Jingle Souls Jingle Souls

The Lordsouls I've retrieved,

I'm on the path to fight Lord Gwen

the Fallen Undead King.

I have claimed my throne

I know not what is next

I walk away from the burning flame

To confront my destiny…


	6. A knight to remember

Orion awoke, scanning the area around him, counting two heads.

"Who is missing…" he mumbled.

He snapped out of his drowsiness when he noticed it was Azuron. He threw his trunk open and started digging through the darkness. He felt the grip of the Black Knight's blade that was stored safely inside.

"Good, he didn't steal it…"

"What's all the ruckus?" Xren asked, waking up.

"That heretic up and left us here."

"Azuron's gone? Hope he makes it fine on his own…"

"I hope he…"

"Hey, finally everyone gets up. I scouted ahead, there is a large tower on the far end of here, by where we killed that knight," Azuron said, walking in through the doorway from the bridge.

"Dies…"

"What was that Orion?"

"You talk like you were not tired. Unlike you, some of us needed the rest."

"And only one needed it, you did nothing in the fight."

"I was _dangling_ above a fall that would have _killed_ me! Not to mention you cheated using that powder, if not for it, you would be in no better condition than us."

"Alright! We get the point! You hate each other, yadda yadda! Can we just get on with our lives?" Dextrous yelled, shutting both warriors up.

"Fine, let's go," Orion said with a huff.

The group headed in the direction of where they faced the Black Knight. Just before ascending the steps of the tower, Xren noticed something at the end of the hallway.

"Hey, there is an item down there…" he said, and detoured down the small corridor.

He picked up a small ring off of a dead Hollow sitting on the floor. It was a light blue stone in the shape of a teardrop on an engraved band.

"Check it out," he said, putting it on.

The ring resized itself to fit his right index finger. A surge of energy shot through his entire body, making him twitch slightly.

"Woah, that felt weird… Do I look different or something?"

"Nope, same ugly face," Dextrous said with a laugh.

"Hey!"

"With rings like that, you just have to wait and see what they do, you will never know until it happens," Orion said, continuing up the steps.

The group entered the tower with more stairs going up, or a small door straight ahead.

"This is where I stopped, I got the door unlocked, but it is like there is a boulder holding the door closed," Azuron explained.

Orion walked up to the door, put his weapons on his back, put both hands on the door, and pulled. He pulled with all of his strength, but the door cracked open only a sliver. He gestured for the rest of the group to help, with Dextrous and Xren running over to assist.

"See what you can see through the crack," Xren said to Azuron.

The group heaved on the door, prying it open only an inch before it slammed back shut.

"It looks like a huge boulder is keeping it closed, rope or something maybe? All I saw was gray stone…" Azuron said.

"Well, a tower like this usually has two doors, so we will have to find the other that leads into that room," Orion explained.

"Up it is then…"

Everyone ascended the spiraling stairs. They reached the second landing area, and Dextrous stopped the team.

"What is it?" Orion asked.

"Shhh!" he shushed.

Everyone listened. From a group of barrels in the corner came a rustling noise followed by a tinkling sound.

"I know that sound…" Dextrous said, and creeped up on the barrels.

He drew his sword and dove at the barrels, shattering a large number of them. A glowing insect-like creature came scuttling out from one of them.

"Crystal Lizard! Kill it!" Dextrous called.

Everyone suddenly began swinging their weapons to and fro in a spasmodic fashion trying to hit this little lizard. Azuron and Xren collided and fell backwards. Orion nearly harpooned Dextrous with his spear. The lizard was just about to get away down the stars by jumping down the gap, when Dextrous fired a crossbow bolt at it. The shot pinned the glowing lizard to the stone wall. He walked over to the carcass and claimed his prize.

"These little guys can be gutted for various types of minerals. Mist importantly is the crystal on their back, which is a very powerful reinforcement material. My father and I used to hunt these in a forest when I was young," Dextrous said. "Give me a moment."

He took out a large knife, and began cutting the belly of the lizard open. Out of it came small shards of a gray stone. Next, he took what looked like a tiny pickaxe, and chipped the crystal off the lizard's back. He kept the crystal, but gave one of the three shards to each other person.

"Next lizard will go to another person. These are fairly rare, so we have to be careful what we use the crystal on. The shards are just basic reinforcement materials that come in all kinds of sizes and colors."

"How do you know so much? Were you a smith too?" Xren asked.

"No, my father worked under a high ranking knight whose friend was a very good smith. All I know is general knowledge of these critters as they are what we were tasked with hunting."

"Useful, glad to see there are people with useful skills here," Orion said.

Azuron knew it was a stab at him, but he also knew it was a very weak one, and shrugged it off. The group climbed the last set of spiral stairs only to meet an archway with a clouded white fog in it.

"Now what?" Xren asked.

Orion put up a hand to the fog.

"It's like the one that barricaded us in at the Asylum," Dextrous said.

Orion's hand went through the fog, followed by a sudden jerk, as if something tried to pull him in. He pulled his arm back out of the fog, examining it.

"What's wrong?"

"Something felt like it tried to grab my arm, but there is no evidence of it," Orion answered.

"Well, this is the _only_ way we can go, so we are just going to have to deal with whatever is behind here," Azuron said bluntly.

He pushed his way past Orion, and reached into the white fog.

"Remember what happened last time you tried to play hero…" Orion said sourly.

Azuron continued his way through the white fog, disappearing completely. The rest of the group looked at one another. Orion, not going to be bested by his rival, marched through next. Dextrous then Xren followed him through. The group ended up on a large bridge.

"Now what?" Xren asked.

"Look, someone has been here…" Azuron said, pointing at the floor.

On the ground was a full Estus flask, a longsword, and an iron round shield.

"Who would leave a full flask behind?"

"Pssst," came a voice from behind.

The group turned around to see a ladder leading up to the top of a tower.

"Now either the ladder just 'pssst'-ed us, or I'm going crazy…" Xren said.

"Up here. Be quiet," the voice said again.

"On top of the tower," Orion said, and started up the ladder.

The rest of the group followed in suit, Azuron taking the time to gather the supplies. He went to pick up the longsword by the side of the blade, and reared back in pain.

"Ouch. What the…"

He examined his glove, seeing it had been partly charred where the blade came into contact. Someone who looked like Orion, but with the faceplate up, peeked over the side of the tower.

"By the hilt. Pick it up by the hilt," he whispered.

Azuron cautiously grabbed the leather bound hilt without getting hurt. He tied the flask to his belt, the shield to his back, and cautiously held the blade as he went up the ladder. Getting to the top, he noticed it was indeed not Orion who was peering over the ledge, but a new knight. He wore general steel platemail with grooves in it, and an open visor helm. Azuron gently set the longsword on the ground in front of him, and then gave him the rest of his gear. He noted two Hollow archer bodies on top of the tower.

"How did you take those two out without a weapon?" Azuron asked.

The new knight held up a shortsword.

"Always carry a spare."

"So what are you doing up here, and why be so quiet?" Orion asked.

The knight simply pointed across the bridge to the opposing tower. On the top rested a large red and brown-furred beast. Worse yet, beside it laid a rather large axe looking weapon.

"Oh… Well he doesn't look that tough, especially against the group of us."

"I have never seen something so large, let alone being trapped with it and nowhere to go."

"Don't worry, we have gone through worse so far. Who's in?" Azuron called.

"I am," Dextrous said.

"Me too," Xren said.

"I'm the one who said it didn't look tough against a group, wasn't I?" Orion said sarcastically.

"I never thought the great Orion would think about teamwork…"

"I always like teamwork, just not with you."

"Do these two always do this?" the new knight asked, picking up his gear.

"Sadly yes…" Dextrous said.

Orion and Azuron continued to throw insults at each other.

"Think they will make up?"

"Doubt it…" Xren said.

"Well at least I have a sense of honor!" Azuron called.

His voice echoed through the valley. Everyone's gaze slowly turned to the opposite tower. Staring back were two blazing red eyes of the giant beast. Everyone stood completely still, gazes locked. Suddenly the beast let out a roar, grabbed its axe, and jumped to its feet. It leaped off the top of the tower, crashing into the bridge below, and charged towards our tower.

"Alright, Dextrous, stay here and give us cover fire. Xren and I will charge at it. You two, do what you wish, just stay out of the way!" Orion ordered and jumped from the tower, greatsword in hand. Xren jumped behind and the two charged the oncoming beast.

"So what are we supposed to do?" the new knight asked.

"We get in there and fight, just stay out of his highness' way…" Azuron said.

Orion and Xren collided with the demon at the center of the bridge. Xren drove his mace into the beast's leg. The demon reared its leg back, tearing Xren's mace from his hands.

"Hey!" he called.

Orion pulled his blade back, and stabbed it point first into the demon's right knee. The blade was pushed straight through the back of the massive leg, with the parrying hooks stopping it from going further. He let go of the blade, and drew his spear from his back. The demon stepped back, limping slightly on the right leg.

"How is that not slowing it down?!" Orion called.

Arrows began raining from the tower, hitting the demon in the head, but bouncing off the tough hide. The demon shrugged off the attacks and prepared one of its own. It held its axe in both hands, and threw it back readying a swing.

"Xren, move!" Orion called.

Both Orion and Xren rolled forward underneath the swing. Xren ripped his mace from the demon's leg mid-roll. The demon's back was now to the tower.

"You joining in the fight?" Azuron asked.

The new knight shrugged, still shocked and confused as to what was going on.

"So be it."

Azuron jumped off the tower and drove his blade into the back of the demon, between the shoulder blades. It took both hands to withdraw his blade again. He landed on the ground behind the demon. The demon roared in pain, a stream of red shot out from between its shoulders.

"Its back, that's its weak point!" Xren called.

"Xren, give me a boost!" Orion called.

Xren held his hands out, fingers interlocked. Orion ran onto his hands, and he launched Orion upwards. Orion flew onto the top of the demon, rained his spear, and drove it into its back. This time, the demon ignored the pain, and threw Orion off its back. Orion landed on the ground, slightly winded. The demon was about to take a swing at Xren, who would never be able to block the attack. Orion dove to throw Xren out of the way, and got hit instead. The force of the blow threw him across the bridge. He flew into the opposite tower, leaving a small crater.

"Orion!" Xren called, getting up and running over to the downed knight.

Xren started to cast a medium level healing miracle on the knight.

"Leave this thing to me? Thanks a lot…" Azuron said sarcastically.

The demon swung its axe toward Azuron, who dodged to the side.

_"__I can't keep dodging and attack at the same time…"_ Azuron thought, dodging another attack.

"Sorry Azuron, I'm out of arrows! I didn't think they would do _nothing_!" Dextrous called after exhausting his quiver.

"Great…"

Suddenly, there was an orange flash of light and a wave of heat. Azuron looked up to see a scorch mark on the chest of the demon, and a knight standing in front. The demon let out a deafening scream that echoed through the surrounding hills.

"What…?"

"Things with fur usually don't like fire, right? Leave this to me. I don't like seeing good people get hurt!" the knight called.

He dashed forward with incredible speed, his longsword drawn ahead. It was difficult to keep track of the knight through attacks, even for Dextrous. The knight dodged the demon's attacks with ease, returning the attacks with ease. Before anyone knew it, the demon's fur was beginning to smoke. Its attacks were starting to slow, making it easier for the knight to land hits. In a flash, the demon's coat caught on fire. It dropped to its knees, dropped its axe, stared down the knight, and fell face first onto the bridge. It exploded into white light, which proceeded to flow into each person's crystals. Orion's spear and sword fell to the ground with a pair of clangs. Dextrous hopped off the tower, landing just behind the pair of weapons.

"Glad to know I've still got it," the knight said. _"Now, I need to find out how to get back home…"_

The knight dashed through the fading fog door on the opposite side of the bridge, passing Xren and Orion.

"Where is he going?" Dextrous asked.

"I'm not sure, but he had quite the skill for someone in his condition," Azuron replied.

Dextrous placed his bow over his shoulder and picked up Orion's weapons. The two made their way to Xren and the unconscious Orion.

"Is he okay?" Azuron asked.

"He should be fine, he just needs some rest and another healing session. A smith to repair his armor wouldn't hurt either," Xren replied.

Orion's shoulder plate was cracked, a few leather straps were broken, and the state of his helmet was the worst. It had a small hole in it with cracks coming from the sides on the back, and the front was cracked from the forehead, across the right eye, and down to the front of the visor.

"We need to get moving, we don't know what is ahead," Dextrous said. "I will scout ahead a bit."

Dextrous went ahead through the doorway, and down the set of stairs. Xren and Azuron lifted Orion up, with each taking one of his weapons, and carried him to the area Dextrous was scouting.

They met up with the archer on yet another bridge, but this one was far larger.

"Another bridge…" Xren complained.

"There is a small gap halfway across the bridge, inside was a ladder that led back to the bonfire," Dextrous said.

The group carried Orion into the gap in the side of the bridge, passing some scorched bodies on the way.

_"__Wonder what those are from. I have a bad feeling…"_ Azuron thought.

As they got under the bridge, they heard a set of footsteps coming across, but had more pressing matters to worry about. They got into the tower and, instead of using the ladder, carefully scrambled down the ruined staircase that looked like something big took a bite out of it.

"Let's rest up here, I need to rest before I can heal Orion anymore," Xren said.

"When you rest up, I can help. Should make the process faster," Azuron said.

"Sounds good, now I need some sleep…" Xren said with a yawn.

Azuron looked at the injured Orion with a sense of pity.

_"__You are more than just a self-centered fool, there is a heart in there somewhere it seems."_ Azuron thought.

**A/N: HA! Barely made it! I know the fight scene was a little lazily done, promise they will get much better. Plus, let's face it, the Taurus demon was not really much of a fight anyway… Anywho! Hope everyone had an awesome holiday week! A new character has caught the gaze of the group, who is he? Whoever he is, he knows his way around a blade… See y'all next week, keep the feedback coming!**


	7. Attack on Dragon Bridge

"Ugh, my head…" Orion said, waking up from his unconsciousness. "What happened?"

"You jumped in, taking a hit for me," Xren said.

"Yeah, and you left a crater in the opposing wall…" Dextrous added in.

"How long have I been out?" Orion asked.

"A few hours. Xren and I have been rotating healing sessions on you," Azuron said, leaning on the back wall.

"Appreciate it…" Orion said, leaning his head back against the wall.

"Are you fit to move?" Xren asked.

"I bet I can, just give me a minute…"

Orion took a deep breath, focusing his strength and calming his mind.

"Toss me the spear."

Xren grabbed the winged spear, and tossed it to the knight. Orion caught it, and used it to lean on as he stood up. When he fully stood up, he stored the spear on his back and stretched.

"My neck still hurts a bit, but otherwise, I feel fine."

"Fine enough to make it beyond the bridge?" Azuron asked.

"Probably, lets get going. Oh, and where did that other knight go? The one that was scared out of his wits."

"That scared knight killed the beast and took off," Xren said.

"He was very skilled, and quick on his feet too," Dextrous said.

"Interesting. If we find him again, we should see if he wants to travel with us."

Orion wandered over to the other side of the bonfire where his sword was standing. He lifted it up, and fitted it onto his back. He started to go out through the archway, but stopped when he noticed nobody was following.

"I thought we were leaving…"

Dextrous pointed across the room to the ladder he had kicked down from the room under the bridge.

"Now how was I supposed to know?" Orion asked sarcastically.

He followed the rest of the group as they went up the ladder. They gathered in the small room underneath the bridge.

"Now what?" Orion asked.

"I heard footsteps headed back across the bridge when we went down here earlier. We should see who it was," Azuron said.

"If this supposed person is still there…" Orion said.

The group followed Azuron back across the start of the bridge.

"What happened to these?" Orion asked, gesturing to the scorched bodies.

"We don't know, I noticed them on our way the first time," Azuron said.

They arrived at the end of the bridge, only to see a bright red feather poking over the ledge. They made their way over to the ledge, only to find a man standing there, staring at the sun.

"See, I thought I heard someone."

The man was a bulky build, wearing a mix of chainmail and iron plated armor. He wore a white surcoat with a red and yellow sun on it, and green fur shoulders. An iron bucket helmet covered his head with a bright red feather on the right side. The group approached the man, who continued to stare at the sun.

_"__This guy is going to go blind doing that… idiot."_ Orion thought.

"Ah, hello! You don't look Hollow, far from it!" the man said. "I am Solaire of Astora, an adherent of the Lord of Sunlight. Now that I am Undead, I have come to this great land, the birthplace of Lord Gwyn, to seek my very own sun!"

He paused for a moment, still staring at the sun.

"Do you find that strange? Well, you should! No need to hide your reaction. I get that look all the time!"

"We are in the same situation. However, some of us have been in it more than others…" Orion said. "Why?"

"The way I see it, our fates appear to be intertwined. In a land brimming with Hollows, could that really be mere chance? So, what do you say? Why not help one another on this lonely journey?"

"Sounds good, we need all the help we can get."

"This pleases me greatly!" he suddenly yelled, startling everyone.

"We are amidst strange beings, in a strange land. The flow of time itself is convoluted, with heroes centuries old phasing in and out. The very fabric wavers, and relations shift and obscure. There's no telling how much longer your world and mine will remain in contact," he explained.

"So, you're saying there are layered worlds, overlapped in some strange way? Sounds far-fetched," Xren said.

"I am a warrior of the sun! Spot my summon signature easily by its brilliant aura, and we can engage in jolly co-operation! If you miss it, you must be blind!"

The group stood there, still idolizing the sun.

"Are you not coming with us?"

"I will stay behind, to gaze at the sun. The sun is a wondrous body. Like a magnificent father! If only I could be so grossly incandescent!" Solaire said.

"Okay, suit yourself…"

The group turned away from their new-found ally, and headed back to the start of the bridge. Orion was the first to arrive at the scorched body.

_"__Something doesn't smell right…"_ Orion thought, taking in a deep breath of the surrounding air.

"That smells like… Sulfur! Everybody, run for the sides of the bridge, now!" Orion called, making a break for the left inlet on the bridge.

"What? Why?" Xren asked.

Azuron glanced at Orion, who had withdrawn his spear, and at the body. The wind current slightly changed, and a heavy gusting pattern could be heard in the distance.

"He's right, everyone get to cover!" Azuron yelled, dashing to Orion's side.

Dextrous and Xren, confused, slowly made their way to the same wall. A roar, and a gust of wind sped their pace up. The giant red Wryvern swooped overhead, landing on the castle across the bridge. It let out a loud roar, spitting sparks of fire along with it.

"I should have known it was not a Wryvern…" Orion said.

"It's a Drake," both Azuron and Orion said simultaneously.

The two looked at each other, with both shock and distaste.

"So… now what? It is blocking our way," Xren said.

"We kill it," Orion and Azuron said.

"Dextrous, can you give us cover fire? Aim for the eyes and the slots between its underbelly scales. Xren, give us any medical support we need, and be ready," Orion ordered.

The Drake let out another roar that shook the walls beside the group.

"I really hate to team up with you, but you are the only other who knows what to do here," Orion said to Azuron.

"Dextrous, ready the first shot. As soon as he hits the bridge, we attack," Azuron said.

Dextrous leaned out from the side of the wall, drew back an arrow, and fired it. It hit just below the Drake's eye, not enough to blind it, but it sure enraged it. The Drake jumped off the castle, and onto the bridge.

"Go!" Orion called.

Orion and Azuron dashed onto the bridge. Azuron ran underneath the Drake's body and began to slash at its legs. Orion held his spear at its maximum length, aiming it at the Drake's chest. The Drake jumped into the air, took off, and circled back to the bridge.

"Incoming!" Orion called.

Both Orion and Azuron dodged back to the safety of the inlets. The Drake flew over the bridge, igniting the entire length in a blaze of fire. The flames lapped at the group, barely singeing their armor. The Drake landed again on the bridge. Orion leapt out, and charged at the Drake with his spear raised. The Drake spun, tripping Orion with its tail. With a quick flick of its tail mid-spin, Orion was sent skyward. Azuron charged toward the Drake, but was batted away with a claw and sent sailing towards the castle. Orion looked down to see an open Drake maw awaiting him. He curled up, holding his spear at an angle as he fell. When he entered the Drake's maw, he flattened out his spear. The spear wedged itself into the lower jaw and roof of the Drake's maw. The drake lowered its head, allowing Orion to stand and hold onto his spear. He looked down the Drake's throat to see a strange gas collecting.

"Shit! Guys, do something!" Orion called.

"Here!" Dextrous called, and fired an arrow into the Drake's mouth.

Orion ripped the arrow out of the Drake's gums, and began jabbing it into the Drake's lower jaw. Azuron snapped out of his daze, only to notice a large claymore sitting beside him.

"Perfect…" he said, grabbing the blade.

Dextrous fired a perfectly aimed arrow, hitting the Drake directly in the right eye. Azuron took the opportunity to rush forward underneath the Drake. He drove his small sword into the Drake's neck, between two plates. The Drake recoiled, thrashing its tail towards Azuron. He drew his claymore, and cleaved the tail off completely.

"Drive it into this thing's head!" Orion called.

The Drake began to recover from the attacks, and Dextrous fired another arrow into its left eye, completely blinding the Drake. Azuron slashed the front two legs out from under the Drake, forcing it to drop onto the bridge.

"Do it! Xren, give him a boost!" Orion called, dropping down to lie onto the Drake's tongue.

Xren dashed to Azuron, and lifted him into the air.

"Yaaagh!" Azuron called, soaring into the air.

He brought his claymore down, blade tip first, into the top of the Drake's snout. The force was powerful enough to drive his claymore straight through the lower jaw, and the spearhead through the roof of the Drake's head, spraying blood into the air. The Drake fell to the ground, dead, a small blood pool gathering from below the large head.

"Orion?" Azuron asked, withdrawing his blade.

There was a slight sound of a sparking sound, followed by a barrage of soul arrows exploding out the top of the Drake's snout. Orion punched a fist through the weakened bone, climbing his way out of the hole. He stood on top of the Drake's head, and ripped his spear out.

"That could have gone better…" he said, looking over his saliva and blood covered armor. "And cleaner…"

"Haha, you look like crap," Xren said.

"Funny, man that was fun!"

"Are you okay?" Dextrous asked.

"Yeah, I have…"

Orion stopped, realizing he was acting strange.

_"__Don't get carried away, it has been a long time, but do not let them know the truth…"_ Orion thought.

"Ahem, well, let's continue onward."

As soon as Orion hopped off the Drake's snout, it exploded into white light. The light split and beamed into each person's crystal. Strangely, the Drake's tail remained. Dextrous walked up to the tail, which was roughly three feet long, and examined it.

"Wonder why this stayed?" Dextrous wondered.

"Haha, maybe you can work some hunter magic on it or something," Xren joked.

Dextrous thought about it, and decided to haul the tail along.

"I was kidding…"

The group walked across the bridge to find an unlit bonfire waiting there.

"It's going to take a while to clean this off…" Orion said, withdrawing a rag from a satchel.

"That was insane. I hope that is the only one for a while…" Xren said.

"What is that supposed to mean? You didn't do much," Dextrous said.

"I gave Azuron a boost."

"I blinded a dragon."

"Drake," Orion and Azuron said simultaneously.

They looked at each other again, both hating that kept happening.

"Let's get some rest, whatever is through this gate must be tough to keep it locked away," Azuron said.

_"__He knows too much about Drakes to be just some stupid follower of The Heretic. He knows his way around that claymore too, no, impossible,"_ Orion thought, as he started to clean his armor.

_"__That proves it. The skill, the Drake bloodlust, it has to be, only a Slayer can fight a Drake like that,"_ Azuron thought, examining his new blade.

**A/N: Man, sorry it is slightly late, kinda got too into the chatter then into Supernatural… Anyway, epic Drake fight! Would love to hear any improvements and opinions on it.I know it was slightly out of context from the game, but my goal of this story is to make it realistic with game elements in it. Well, that's all I got for now. See y'all next week!**


	8. Lightning on a sunny day

In a matter of a few hours, the group was rested and ready to continue through the locked gate. Everyone stood up, but before they could go anywhere, Dextrous halted the group.

"Hold on, what is that over there?" he asked, pointing to an open doorway.

He made his way over to it, standing in the stone archway. The rest of the group followed behind, lining up beside Dextrous. Through the arch was a balcony area with a few Hollows scattered around. At the end, across from the archway, was a small set of stairs that led up to a landing. On which grew dense vegetation with a crumpled statue sitting in the middle.

"There is something strange about this area, something… divine," Xren said, slowly making his way to the statue.

"Be careful, there are Hollows in there," Azuron said.

Xren cautiously walked from the archway to the base of the stairs. He passed a Hollow that looked like it was crying, another that looked like it was paying homage to thin air with a broken sword, and finally one pushing on the wall as if it would go somewhere. Nothing to be immediately worried about. He made his way up the stairs to stand beside the broken statue. The rubble resembled a once human figure, bearing a large spear, standing atop a pedestal. Now it is a pedestal with severed feet, a broken spear propped beside, an arm laying to the side and the other behind, but oddly enough, no head to be seen. He reached out a hand towards the fallen sculpture, and was greeted by a beam of light. Xren squinted in the intense light, but soon the intensity faded to that of a sunrise. By instinct from his clergy past, he took a knee in front of the statue, as if it were some kind of altar. The rest of the group watched in curiosity as to what was going on. The light seemed to focus on Xren, almost like a single sunbeam coming down onto him. There was a final flash of light and Xren rose, clutching something in his hand. He walked back to the rest of the group, and they moved to gather around the bonfire.

"What was all that?" Orion asked.

"I'm not sure. That statue was giving off a strange, but familiar, energy. I decided to investigate and, I don't know, something just told me to do what I did," Xren explained.

"Strange, what is that?" Dextrous asked, gesturing to a pouch in Xren's hand.

"I don't know, I didn't even know I was carrying it."

Xren opened the pouch to withdraw a golden medal with the symbol of a sun engraved on it. He also withdrew a piece of parchment with strange words and the picture of a small lightning bolt on it.

"What do I do with these?"

"I have seen that symbol before, anyone else think it resembles the symbol on that Solaire guy's coat?" Azuron pointed out.

"You're right, it does. I wonder if he went through the same thing…" Dextrous said.

"I know what that sheet of paper is," Orion said.

"You do?" Xren asked.

"From what I have read and heard, there are three types of those sheets, for three types of magic," Orion explained. "The one you hold is for your miracles, for clerics. Then there is one for sorceries, which I use. Lastly are the ones for the lost art of pyromancy, fire magic. Each type of page can only be read by someone with the appropriate ability to use them."

"What does that mean?"

"For example, sorceries take a lot of knowledge to read. Their incantations are like formulas, they have to be deciphered. Once you decipher them, the page will change, forcing the next person to resolve it. After a spell is learned, it can be cast at will, but each cast drains the caster's energy."

"So that is why you almost collapsed back at the Asylum," Dextrous said.

"Exactly. I hadn't used magic in quite a while, and my body couldn't handle the sudden jolt."

"So how do I do this? Do I just…" Xren started, but stopped the second he looked at the page.

Xren stared intently at the page as if it were going to turn into some kind of monster. A slight glow shined from the page, but only for a moment, then disappeared. Xren's head slightly recoiled back, taking in a breath of air at the same time.

"Woah… that was crazy," he said

"What happened? You were in a trance of sort," Azuron asked, with slight interest.

"I looked at the page, and the symbols rearranged themselves into a single line of gibberish. I repeated that phrase in my head, and boom! There was that flash of light, and now the page is blank."

Azuron looked over Xren's shoulder at the page.

"It still has a picture and writing on it. Did you go blind from that flash?" he asked.

"No, seriously? I see a blank piece of parchment."

Orion was next to look at it.

"No, it has things on it. It must work like sorceries. It changes and anyone who has learned it cannot reveal what the new writing says," he said.

"Oh, so people can't cheat. Interesting. Can I see it?" Azuron asked.

"You can have it, I can't use it anymore."

Xren gave Azuron the piece of parchment. Azuron looked at it, and tried his hand at reading it. He focused on the page, but nothing was happening. He was starting to turn slightly red from concentrating a little too hard.

"Azuron, you are turning as red as that drake…" Orion said, a slight tone of humor in his voice.

Azuron let out the breath of air he was holding in, and took in a deep breath.

"Almost, some of the words came out, but the last phrase just vibrated slightly," he said.

"Have faith. You will get it eventually," Xren said.

Orion walked over to the gate, and placed a hand on the lever beside it.

"Everyone ready to move onwards then? There's no telling as to what lies beyond here," Orion said.

"We're set. Not to worry, if you two can bring down that drake, I think you can handle whatever it is," Dextrous said, a sense of confidence in his voice.

_"__If it were only so simple…"_ Azuron thought.

Orion pulled the lever, sounding off a series of gears and locks grinding. The gate slowly opened, revealing a path leading up a set of shallow stairs.

"Here goes…" Orion said, drawing his large blade, and leading the way.

They got not ten steps up, and a lone Hollow soldier came charging at them. Orion took one swing, and all but cut the soldier in half. As he brought his blade back to its starting position, Xren spoke up.

"Hey, there is a ladder going down and stairs going up," he said.

He looked down the hole with the ladder in it, and nearly fell backward.

"Nope, not going down there. It's a rat pit down there. I'm going to see what is on top of this tower."

With that, Xren started his trek up the spiraling stone staircase.

"Do we follow him, or what?" Dextrous asked.

"It is too thin to fight appropriately, and if something came down, we would knock each other down. I think we should stay here. Its not like there could be…" Orion was cut off by a loud smash that echoed through the stairwell.

A large amount of frantic footsteps echoed down, getting louder with each set. Before the group's eyes, Xren came flying through the small doorway.

"Run! It's angry!" he called, sprinting back to the bonfire.

"What is angry… Holy Shit!" Dextrous yelled.

Another Black Knight, wielding a massive black sword that dwarfed Orion's, came sprinting full speed down the spiral stairs. The remainder of the group followed Xren back to the bonfire. The Black Knight followed with a vengeance.

"I thought we killed it!" Xren called.

"We killed _one_ of them, who knows how many there are?" Orion said.

The group gathered behind a large fountain at the back of the bonfire room. The Black Knight slowly rounded the corner underneath the gate.

"What do we do?" Dextrous asked.

"This room is fairly small, which is both good and bad. We can encircle it, or run it in circles around this fountain," Orion said.

The Black Knight decided the plan of action for itself, suddenly charging at the group from the right side of the fountain. They rotated left around the fountain, being sure to keep it between them and the Knight. The Knight roared, and continued left. The group rotated back to their initial starting position. The Black Knight gave out another roar.

"I think we are making its anger worse," Xren said bluntly.

"Okay, is anyone good at parrying?" Orion asked, keeping an eye on the Knight.

"I am," Azuron said, swapping out his claymore for his smaller sword and tiny shield.

"You think you can parry that with, well, _that_?"

"More or less, sure."

"Okay… When he charges again, you parry it, and we will come from behind."

"Right…" Azuron said, slight doubt and nervousness in his voice.

Azuron rotated to the back of the group, and sure enough, the Black Knight once again charged. Everyone, save Azuron, rotated back to the front of the fountain. The Knight raised its large blade above its head, reading a heavy downward swing. Azuron took a defensive stance, and readied his small shield. As the Knight's blade was a mere few inches above his head, Azuron leaned right, and crosschecked it with his shield. The large blade met his shield and, due to the shield's curved front, slid off to the left, and hit the floor beside Azuron.

"Go!"

Xren held his mace in both hands, and drove it into the Knight's back. The force of the hit sent the Knight tumbling to the ground. Orion walked up, spear in hand. He raised the point up, centered it, and drove it straight into the Knight's back. The Knight let out a final roar, before collapsing into a lump of armor.

"I will take that…" Orion said, gripping the hilt of the Black Knight's large sword.

He went to pick it up, but found it far heavier than he expected. He ended up dragging it to his trunk that was sitting by the bonfire. He had to lift up the bottom half with both hands just to get it onto the side of the trunk. He then grasped the pointed end, a hand on either side, lifted it up, and slid it into the trunk.

"What are those made from? Stone?" Orion said.

Azuron gave a slight smirk, which Orion did not appreciate in the least.

"Doubt you could have lifted it either there tiny."

"At least I can take out these Black Knights. You have had to rely on me twice now," Azuron replied.

"Here we go again…" Xren sighed.

The two argued for a few minutes, Dextrous and Xren decided to scout the walkway ahead.

"Do you see that?" Xren asked.

"I do, but I don't like the way it is looking at us," Dextrous replied.

They were crouched on the top of the shallow staircase, looking down the long walkway to an open gate on the opposite side. On the walkway stood a Hollow swordsman on the left, and a spearman on the right. Further up was a large armored boar with blazing red eyes, which was staring at the duo. Behind the pig stood a lone Hollow soldier, just in front of the open gate. Two archers stood atop a catwalk above the pig, with another Hollow spearman guarding their side on a raised part of the wall.

"Well, this is going to be fun…"

"Where should we start?" Dextrous asked, knocking an arrow.

"Where did you get more arrows? I thought you ran out on the first Black Knight."

"First, and most important, thing hunters learn. How to make your own bow and arrows."

"From what? There is nothing here."

"Mostly from what I pick up off all these Hollows, but I also have a stash of materials. The arrows are not the best in the world, but they get the job done."

"Hm, well at least you can keep them in stock. Now, I say we start with the archers up there."

"Agreed."

Dextrous took aim at the archer on the left, drew the string back, and let the arrow loose. It flew, and nailed the Hollow archer square in the head, causing the body to fall backward onto the catwalk. Before the other archer could react, he too got shot. This time, however, its body fell forward instead of backward.

"Oh crap…" Xren said.

The body landed right on top of the armored boar, and slid off to the side. The other Hollows took note of the body, then the presence of its shooters. The Hollow behind the boar quickly ran inside the gate to a lever.

"Hurry, he is going to close the gate!"

Dextrous quickly knocked another arrow, aimed, and fired. The arrow sailed directly towards the Hollow's head, but was met with a metallic clink, just before a crash. The arrow was imbedded just to the side of a hole in the gate, missing the Hollow by a sliver. The Hollow seemed to wave its sword in the air as if taunting the duo, before hiding around the corner.

"He's taunting us!" Xren called.

"We have something worse to worry about…" Dextrous said, drawing his sword.

The Hollow swordsman and two Hollow spearman were making their way towards the duo. The swordsman was the first to attack, keeping his shield up as he moved forward. Xren held his mace in both hands, and brought down on the shield. The force was enough to break the guard of the Hollow, giving Dextrous an opportunity to drive his sword into it. The two spearmen stood side by side, keeping their shields raised.

"Why do they have to cower behind those stupid shields…" Dextrous said.

"Watch this, something I learned at the monetary. Be ready," Xren said, withdrawing his talisman.

He focused, brought both his arms close in to him, and with a quick flare of his arms outward, a blast of energy came from his body. The blast staggered both spearman at the same time, giving Dextrous the opening to take both out with a few quick slashes.

"What was that?" he asked, re-sheathing his blade.

"I don't have many miracles, three to be exact. They wouldn't let me learn the higher level ones 'due to my current state,' even though I was capable of using them. That's when I found out they were throwing me in that Asylum, so I grabbed a random scroll and read it just before they grabbed me." Xren explained.

"Well, it sure came in handy, what are the other two?"

"Very basic healing, and whatever that one was from the altar."

Xren shook his head.

"Stop asking questions, we have that armored pig-thing yet."

"True, let's go."

They got not five feet, and the armored boar charged. Dextrous dodged to the side, nearly hitting a pile of flaming dead Hollows. Xren decided he would try to block the charge with his metal shield. The shield, surprisingly, withstood the attack, but its wielder was sent skyward. The boar spun around to face the recovering hunter. Equipped with only a tiny shield, Dextrous wouldn't stand a chance against the beast. Xren fell from the sky, but instead of landing on the ground, he landed on the back of the boar, with a leg on either side of its body and laying back.

"Oh gods! That hurt! What did I…" Xren said, recovering from the fall, only to look up and stare directly into the boar's red eye. "Oh crap…"

The boar took of running, bucking its back legs in an attempt to throw its rider. The boar was all over the large walkway, bucking and jumping everywhere. In a last attempt, the boar charged into the gate, expecting the jolt from hitting it to throw its rider. Xren suffered only a slight whiplash, but nothing more. The boar, however, managed to get its tusks stuck in the openings of the gate, and was frantically trying to get free. Xren slowly got off, fairly dizzy, and backed up a few feet. He gestured with a clenched fist towards the trapped boar, as if he was knocking on a door. He began shaking his fist back in forth in the air, reaching back to his shoulder. He failed to notice his talisman was still clenched tightly in his fist, and was beginning to spark.

"That will teach you swine!" Xren called, throwing his fist forward to finish his gesture.

Instead of an empty fist being the final gesture of his insult, a bolt of lightening flew out of his hand. Orion and Azuron, done with their dispute, arrived just in time to watch it sail skyward before hitting a random flying animal, vaporizing it on impact.

"That poor bird… You are cruel, why would you do something like that?" Orion asked.

Xren just stared at his still sparking talisman in both shock and wonder.

"How did I just do that?" he asked.

"You were making that gesture, maybe it was that?" Dextrous suggested.

Xren tried to do his arm waving motion again, with no result.

"No, you reached further back, to your shoulder."

Xren reached his right hand back to match his shoulder. He glanced at his fist, which was starting to glow with electricity.

"That's it, now throw it!"

He aimed at the armored boar, and hurled his arm forward. To everyone's dismay, he threw his talisman at the boar instead. The wrap of cloth hit the armored boar with a light thunk.

"Haha! What was that?" Orion laughed.

Suddenly the miracle casted itself from the talisman, sending a rogue bolt flying at the wall. It bounced between the falls, forcing everyone to hit the ground. The bolt bounded a few times, then disappeared.

"You are supposed to _hold onto the talisman_! You make the _gesture_ of throwing it…" Azuron said sarcastically.

"Oh… oops."

Xren walked over to retrieve his talisman from the side of the boar. The boar made a low grumbling noise.

"Are you laughing at me?!"

Xren threw his arm back, and forward, quickly firing off a bolt that actually went where it was supposed to. The bolt was absorbed into the boar's metal plating, with electricity bouncing around on the inside. The boar started to shake, seize, and flail around on the ground. It shook so much that it, with its tusks still stuck, broke its own neck. The boar's body limped on the ground, disappeared, and was absorbed into the crystals.

"Well that was… energetic," Xren said.

"Please tell me you did not just say that…" Orion said, standing back up.

"He did…" Dextrous said, his face planted neatly in the palm of his hand.

"Let's just get going before he comes up with anymore of bad lines."

"What? It was funny, right?" Xren asked, but the group had already continued to a stairwell going down under the catwalk.

The group rounded a corner, only to find a single Hollow with a broken sword.

"Only one? Easy," Orion said, switching to his spear to use in the cramped hallway.

Just as he was about to stab it, it took off running. It ran into the next room, and up a set of stairs.

"Where do you think you are going? Come back here!"

Orion walked to the edge of the doorway, and stopped.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you're scared of a little Hollow," Xren said.

"These things are smarter than we give them credit for. Xren, can I borrow your shield?"

Xren handed Orion his shield. Orion held it up, with the spear poking out of the side of it.

"Watch."

He slowly walked to poke the end of his spear through the doorway, when suddenly two Hollows dashed from either side of the doorway. Orion quickly dispatched them due to his spear's long reach. He gave Xren his shield back, and gestured for the rest of the group to continue.

"That is why. Never underestimate your enemy."

Orion fell back while the rest of the group made their way up the next set of stairs, taking out three more Hollows. One by one, they ascended a rusty ladder to meet two more Hollows. They climbed yet another ladder to reach a large empty room, holding nothing but a bunch of barrels and wooden tables. They walked to the end of the room, and arrived at another white fog door.

"Can something dangerous be behind it? That has been the trend for the most part," Xren said.

"On a tiny catwalk? I doubt it," Orion replied.

Orion walked through the fog, which disappeared as he got through. They walked across a small bridge above the lower catwalk. At the other end was a crossroad.

"Left or right?"

Azuron peeked around the right, seeing a single large Hollow with a cape.

"I can take care of him, you guys go left, I will catch up," Azuron said.

The group continued while Azuron crept up behind the Hollow knight. Just before the Hollow knight could react, Azuron drove his claymore through its chest. The knight fell forward and disappeared. Azuron looked down at the ground to find a red and blue kite shield. He tossed his tiny shield aside, and picked up the metal kite.

"Finally I can be rid of that tiny shield…" he said with satisfaction.

"Look out behind you!" Xren called.

"You too! Back to back!" Orion responded.

Azuron quickly down to meet the rest of the group, only to find them cornered between a Hollow knight and a Hollow spearman. Xren had his shield raised, easily blocking the pokes from the spear on the right. Orion had his own spear outreached, preventing the Hollow knight from getting too close while Dextrous put arrows into it. Finally, Xren killed the spearman by bashing it with his shield and finishing it off. He passed his shield up to Orion, who used it as cover to charge the Hollow knight. After it was dead, he handed Xren his shield back, again.

"I need to find a new shield… I didn't think I would need one so bad with a spear," Orion said.

They continued along the path and across a wooden bridge. On the other end was a landing with three Hollows. Dextrous made quick work of the crossbower, while the rest took out the other two.

"Really, is this all we are going to find are crossroads?" Xren complained.

"Well, that looks like the Undead Church," Orion said, gesturing to the large building on the left.

"Sounds good, that wasn't so bad getting here," Dextrous said.

Both Orion and Azuron gave him a harsh stare with a 'are you kidding me' vibe. Dextrous smiled and shrugged. Everyone decided to go left into the church. They walked up the small set of stairs, and into the door. Immediately to their right, there was a massive beast in full armor, wielding a equally large shield and mace. Everyone stood there in shock, hoping it did not notice them. It slowly turned its head towards the door, staring at the small group.

"It's staring at us…" Xren said quietly.

The large beast took a step forward, raised its shield, and readied its mace. The group took five large steps back, now standing at the base of the steps. The armored beast stepped into the doorway.

"There is no way…"

Suddenly the armored beast charged forward down the steps with incredible speed. The group turned tail and ran down the bridge that was across the church's doorway. Trailing close behind was the sound of loud footsteps and clanging metal.

"Keep running! This thing is faster than it looks!" Orion called.

"No duh, hurry up, it's gaining!" Azuron called from the back of the line.

They made it across the bridge, and into a small room.

"That was close. There is no way that thing could fit through the…" Xren started.

The armored beast slowly stepped through the doorway of the room.

"Are you ever going to get tired of being wrong in these situations?" Dextrous asked.

It took a swing of its mace, barely missing the wall on the backswing.

"There are stairs, let's go!" Orion called.

The group dashed down the small staircase to the first landing.

"Now there is definitely…"

"Xren, shut up!" the group chimed.

There was silence above, then finally a sound of retreating footsteps. The group let out a sigh of relief, and relaxed for a second. Orion turned around to see what was further down the steps, and noticed a lit bonfire.

"Strange, this one is lit…" he said.

The group turned around to see the relaxing orange glow of the bonfire. They slowly made their way to the warm safety of the small flame, finally getting to relax after a long, chaotic journey.

**A/N: Dnag that was a long chapter! Definitely made up for missing last week! Sorry for that, things were crazy with New Years and school starting back up. Had to improvise with how the magic works, instead of this "know the spell by carrying a sheet of paper around" system. The group is starting to work together, they just don't fully realize it. Should be back to normal Tuesday/Wednesday for the story starting week after next (because there is no way I can do a good chapter in four days). I will see everyone in a a little over a week! Thanks for all the follows and favorites! You are the guys keeping me going, keep it up, and don't forget to leave a comment on any ups/downs!**


	9. AUTHOR'S NOTICE

**A/N: sorry guys if you thought this was a new chapter, but I have an important announcement. My laptop I was working on decided to die on me, so I can't work much on the story. Fear not, I back up very often, so the story is safe. I will get to posting and working again ASAP. I could, in theory, work from my iPod (like I'm posting from now), but it is hard to get the story file without a computer... Anyway, sorry guys, but I will be out of commission until further notice. **

**Thanks for for understanding and your support. **

**Zweii**


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